After Britney Spears spoke about her conservatorship in court this summer, many of her peers in music came forward with messages of support. That group includes Iggy Azalea, who collaborated with Spears on their 2015 single “Pretty Girls” and performed with her at at 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Now, in a new Instagram post, Spears reminisces about that performance and thanks Azalea for her support.
Sharing photos from the show, Spears wrote, “Me and Iggy on stage!!! It was so much fun working with such a strong, badass woman like her …. I haven’t met her new baby but if she’s reading this God bless you and thank you for all your kind words!!!! Pssss although the name of the song is Pretty Girls I think the concept is more like revenge of the NERDS !!!!”
In the comments, Azalea responded, “I absolutely adore you more than words (and I still have the barbies you gave me). Loving you always you brilliant, too-genius-for this-world-to-understand, kind hearted, gracious & beautifully ethereal being. We are definitely two big ole goofballs in the best way possible.”
Lil Nas X always commits to a concept. When his viral track “Old Town Road” took off, the musician was always seen sporting a cowboy hat. Now, Lil Nas X is gearing up for the release of his debut album Montero by faking a pregnancy and is never without his massive baby bump. Further leaning into his pregnancy cosplay, Lil Nas X has officially opened a “baby registry.”
Much like everything else he does, Lil Nas X’s baby registry isn’t typical. Instead of linking to items like onesies or cribs, Lil Nas X is using the baby registry as a way for fans to donate to important charities.
Lil Nas X made the announcement on social media alongside a few photos of him chilling with is faux-pregnant stomach. “Me and my team have set up a ‘baby registry’ for many charities if you guys would like to donate,” he wrote.
The registry is set up to mimic his Montero album’s tracklist, with each song linking to a different charity. Some of the organizations include the Transinclusive Group, which aims to create a safe space for transgender and gender non-conforming people of color to be their authentic selves, and The Bail Project, a national nonprofit organization on a mission to end cash bail, one of the key drivers of mass incarceration and structural racism in the US criminal legal system.
Montero is out 9/17 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.
Janet Jackson is getting ready to give her fans a behind-the-scenes look at her storied career and rise to fame. Her upcoming documentary Janet is set to feature archival and unseen personal footage, home videos, and exclusive celebrity interviews, which she has previewed in a teaser of the film’s new trailer.
Jackson debuted a one-minute teaser of her Ben Hirsh-directed documentary this week. Along with telling Jackson’s story, the film features some talking head commentary by friends and collaborators like Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul, and more.
“This is my story, told by me, not through someone else’s eyes,” Jackson says in the trailer. “This is the truth — take it or leave it. Love it or hate it. This is me.”
Janet is set to be released live on A&E and Lifetime in January 2022. The full documentary will be a two-part event, with the entire four-hour film premiering across two nights.
After sharing the trailer, fans showed an outpouring of support for the singer. That included Missy Elliott, who praised Jackson’s talent. “You are the BluePrint of what a SuperStar is,” she replied. “40 years in the game & still counting! You are UNBREAKABLE! I Love you Jj you already know.”
Radio 1 Breakfast With Greg James has a fun recurring segment called “Unpopular Opinions,” in which the titular host and his celebrity guest hear unpopular opinions from listeners and discuss their thoughts on them. Jake Gyllenhaal’s defense of Sean Paul is perhaps the most famous moment to emerge from the segment over the past few years, and recently on the program, Ed Sheeran got real about his songs being used as wedding music. The latest participant in the segment is Lizzo, and on it, she suggested that she has ghosted some noteworthy people.
The final listener of the segment declared that she believes it’s OK to ghost someone (aka cut off communication suddenly and without warning) after a few dates. After initially agreeing, Lizzo decided to change her mind. She declared, “Here’s the reason why I agreed with you: I’m a ghoster. I’ve ghosted people you would not believe [laughs].” In reference to Lizzo’s series of flirty social media encounters with Chris Evans, the listener joked, “Like Chris Evans.” Lizzo responded, “No, baby, that’s one man I won’t ghost.”
She then continued, “I have [ghosted], but I don’t think it’s OK. I always get really apologetic when they confront me about it. […] I apologize, but I do it, so I’m kind of on the fence about this one.”
Lizzo then asked the listener why they ghost people, and they gave an insightful answer about not bringing up perceived flaws that may not be an issue to somebody else and therefore making the ghostee needlessly self-conscious. That response seemed to have hit Lizzo and left her with a different point of view about ghosting, or at least the listener’s philosophy behind it.
Check out the “Unpopular Opinion” segment above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
New music festivals pop up all the time, especially in California. One of the most promising to emerge over the past few years, though, is Head In The Clouds. 88Rising, the beloved record label and management company that is home to Asian and Asian-American artists, has hosted the event since 2018. After taking 2020 off for obvious reasons, the fest is returning this year, on November 6 and 7. While the event previously went down at Los Angeles State Historic Park, it now has a new home at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
With the new venue comes a hell of a lineup; Joji, Rich Brian, Niki, Saweetie, CL, Beabadoobee, Guapdad 4000, Japanese Breakfast, The Linda Lindas, and others highlight the bill. That’s quite the group of high achievers who have dominated the music landscape in their own ways recently: Saweetie is currently promoting her own McDonald’s meal, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner is both a music favorite and a best-selling author, and Beabadoobee is one of the biggest rising heroes of indie rock (and the latest Uproxx cover star).
Aside from the level of success on the bill, the stylistic diversity of its artists is noteworthy. Ollie Zhang, 88Rising’s Chief Of Staff, tells Uproxx that this was very much intentional.
“I think that’s always been 88Rising’s mission from since the start, ever since we were just shooting videos and putting them up on YouTube,” he said. “The goal was always to highlight all different types of music. Asian music is so broad and diverse. Everyone’s coming from a different place and we want to be able to represent that on the stage as well. To have such a broad range of artists all sharing the same stage or same festival, I think, is totally an unprecedented thing anywhere in the world, not just in America.”
MADE WITH LOVE BY 88RISING PLEASE WELCOME 2021 HEAD IN THE CLOUDS LA LINEUP. GA + VIP TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW AT NOON PST AT https://t.co/NZ2YI86eDR. More artist to lineup to be announced soon !!! pic.twitter.com/A2GfAISmvQ
Even beyond Head In The Clouds, Zhang says that while “there’s still so much road to cover” when it comes to Asian representation in the music landscape, he’s pleased with where things stand now: “I think that what this festival is now probably wouldn’t have existed and couldn’t have existed six years ago when we started the company.”
He continued, “You’ll be able to find an amazing artist who is Asian-American or from Asia that can speak to you and resonate with you, no matter what type of music that you’re into. I think that’s always been the case no matter what point of time you’ve been in, but I think that we’ve definitely been a part of the changing landscape and pushing those artists forward. I’m excited to see where everything goes in the next couple of years.”
Speaking of the near future and the potential thereof, Toronto multi-instrumentalist Luna Li is one of the up-and-comers on this year’s lineup Zhang is looking forward to seeing more. “When we first come across her, it was just her doing bedroom jams with harps and violin and all these different types of instruments,” he said. “I feel like she’s just a really cutting-edge artist that I’m excited to kind of watch her growth over the next couple of years.”
He also shouted out The Linda Lindas: “I think they’re just full of raucous energy and they obviously had a bit of a viral moment earlier in the year. Excited just to see the energy that they bring to the stage.”
While Head In The Clouds had to leave the stage in 2020, 88Rising thrived in the livestream space. Virtual events like the “Asia Rising Forever” festival (a benefit for Asian Americans Advancing Justice) and Joji’s “The Extravaganza” were “some of the best experiences that 88Rising ever produced,” Zhang said. While noting that in-person events and livestreams are “still pretty distinct mediums,” Zhang believes there are elements from the latter that can translate to the former, suggesting that the online stream of this year’s Head In The Clouds can be more than “just simply broadcasting the camera feed.”
While in-person concerts are coming back, though, it sounds like Zhang still sees the value in livestreams: “I think what we’ve learned is that the livestream concert has a ton of value and can be a really great way to present an artist that can be really different from what an in-person show is.”
Whether or not livestreams are a thing of the past for 88Rising, Head In The Clouds has become a big part of its future. The esteem the label has built for itself over the past few years has allowed this year’s lineup to be a truly exceptional showcase of both the best of 88Rising and of Asian music more broadly.
“I think that the lineup this year is really great and representative of the platform that 88Rising has become,” Zhang proclaimed. “I think it’s our best lineup yet and I’m excited to see it all take place.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in September. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.
Friday, September 3
Asher Roth — Greenhouse Effect Vol. 3 (RetroHash)
Ashland Craft — Travelin’ Kind (Big Loud Records)
Baby Queen — The Yearbook (Polydor)
Bad Waitress — No Taste (Royal Mountain Records)
Big Boi And Sleepy Brown — The Big Sleepover (HITCO)
Brett Young — Weekends Look A Little Acoustic These Days (BMLG Records)
Buck Gooter — Head In A Bird Cage (Ramp Local)
Closet Disco Queen & The Flying Raclettes — Omelette du Fromage (Hummus Records)
David Ferguson — Nashville No More (Fat Possum Records)
Elton John has spent a lot of time working with other artists over the past year or so, and now he’s commemorating that era with The Lockdown Sessions, a new album consisting of collaborations. While the project, which is set for release on October 22, is billed as a new album, it is like a compilation in ways, as it features previously released songs on which John is featured, like Gorillaz’s “The Pink Phantom” and Miley Cyrus’ cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.”
Aside from the aforementioned, the album features collaborations with Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Eddie Vedder, Lil Nas X, Nicki Minaj, Rina Sawayama, SG Lewis, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Surfaces, Years & Years, Young Thug, and others.
John says of the project:
“The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up. Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens. But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realized there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”
Check out the The Lockdown Sessions art and tracklist below.
Interscope
1. Elton John and Dua Lipa — “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)”
2. Elton John, Young Thug and Nicki Minaj — “Always Love You”
3. Surfaces — “Learn To Fly” Feat. Elton John
4. Elton John and Charlie Puth — “After All ”
5. Rina Sawayama and Elton John — “Chosen Family”
6. Gorillaz — “The Pink Phantom” Feat. Elton John and 6lack
7. Elton John and Years And Years — “It’s a sin (global reach mix)”
8. Miley Cyrus — “Nothing Else Matters” Feat. Watt, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, and Chad Smith
9. Elton John and SG Lewis — “Orbit”
10. Elton John and Brandi Carlile — “Simple Things”
11. Jimmie Allen and Elton John — “Beauty In The Bones”
12. Lil Nas X — “One Of Me” Feat. Elton John
13. Elton John and Eddie Vedder — “E-Ticket”
14. Elton John and Stevie Wonder — “Finish Line”
15. Elton John and Stevie Nicks — “Stolen Car”
16. Glen Campbell and Elton John — “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”
The Lockdown Sessions is out 10/22 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Not long after his spectacular Super Bowl halftime show earlier this year, it was revealed that The Weeknd’s performance would be the subject of a Showtime documentary called The Show. Now, we’ve gotten our first look at the film via a new trailer.
The minute-long video includes footage of and soundbites from people, who are mostly not The Weeknd, working behind the scenes of the production. The Show is set to premiere on September 24.
Todd Kaplan, VP of marketing at Pepsi, previously said of The Show, “The Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show is undoubtedly the world’s biggest stage, producing the most viewed and talked about moment in music every single year. The pressure to deliver an iconic, memorable and entertaining performance is felt well beyond the artist, as there are a number of people — behind the scenes — who are vital to its success. With our new documentary coming to Showtime, we are taking fans on the emotional and thrilling journey of what it takes to make the biggest show of the year — with the added complexity of doing so amidst a global pandemic. With Jesse Collins and a number of super-talented creatives at the helm, The Show chronicles all the drama and hard work that goes into successfully pulling off a show of this magnitude.”
Britney Spears’ conservatorship battle is still in progress, as the singer looks to not only remove her father Jamie Spears from his conservator role but also end the court-approved arrangement altogether. Britney recently hired a new lawyer, Matthew Rosengart, and while that case is ongoing, there’s been a new development. According toTMZ, Jamie is allegedly trying to extort his daughter ahead of his potential removal. Legal documents that were obtained by the publication say the singer’s father is asking for around $2 million.
TMZ adds that Jamie plans to use some of the money to pay his lawyers and former business manager Tri Star. Britney’s lawyer, on the other hand, is quite upset at Jamie’s alleged act and displayed his frustration in the court documents. “The status quo is no longer tolerable, and Britney Spears will not be extorted,” a statement from Rosengart reads. The singer’s team is requesting that Jamie step down from his conservator position instead of attempting to slowly pay his way out. She adds that the court should suspend him from the conservatorship starting on September 29 should he refuse to resign.
This new development comes after Jamie said he would only step down from the conservatorship role “when the time is right.” He added that the “transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court.”
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each August brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of August below.
Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever
Interscope
Billie Eilish had a lot riding on her second album, and so far, she has delivered. It has spent multiple weeks at No. 1, spawned hit singles like “Therefore I Am” and “My Future,” and has otherwise kept Eilish in the conversation as one of music’s finest. The vinyl edition of the album is one you can feel environmentally good about owning, too, as it’s pressed on 100-percent recycled vinyl.
The Beach Boys — Feel Flows: The Sunflower And Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971
Capitol/UMG
The Beach Boys’ defining output came in the mid-’60s, but now they’re honoring a pair of their also-excellent early-’70s albums, Sunflower and Surf’s Up, with a giant new box set. There are 135 tracks in total, with 108 of them being previously unreleased tracks, live recordings, demos, alternate versions/mixes, instrumentals, and a capella tracks.
Draw Down The Moon marked a change in direction for Foxing, who embrace genres like pop and rock like they never really have before in their mostly emo-leaning discography. Now, one of the year’s finer rock albums is available pressed on lovely yellow, blue, and green vinyl, which also comes with a 24-inch by 36-inch poster.
The Knife enjoyed a tremendous run as a beloved electronic act in the 200)s, and while they broke up in 2014, they’re celebrating their 2001 sophomore album Deep Cuts. As the record turns 20 years old, it has gotten a limited edition reissue pressed on magenta vinyl, which pairs gorgeously with the colorful album art.
Earlier this month, Rodrigo shared a video of herself in awe as she examined the vinyl edition of Sour for the first time. It turns out that’s an experience a lot of her fans replicated, as Sour had not just the biggest vinyl sales week of 2021 so far, but the second-largest of the past 30 years. So, if you don’t already have this one, the market has shown that it’s worth picking up.
John Coltrane is a headlining act without question, but throughout his career, he also played a supporting role on works by fellow jazz greats like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Sonny Rollins. Now some of those collaborations have been compiled on Another Side Of John Coltrane, which is available digitally. The 2-LP set, though, has the whole package, as it includes two vinyl-exclusive songs: “Nutty” (from Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane) and “Birks’ Works” (from Soul Junction by the Red Garland Quintet featuring Coltrane and Donald Byrd).
LCD Soundsystem — The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live At Madison Square Garden (10th Anniversary Reissue)
DFA Records
It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since LCD Soundsystem’s “farewell” show (which of course preceded the band’s reunion). Now the soundtrack album is back in print as an expansive vinyl edition, made up of five LPs, a print of the original concert poster, and a 10.5-inch by 7-inch full-bleed risograph photo print by longtime band photographer Ruvan Wijesooriya.
Wu-Tang Clan — Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Reissue)
Vinyl Me, Please
Enter The Wu-Tang has gone down as one of hip-hop’s most important and influential albums, and now it has gotten a shiny new reissue via the fine record purveyors at Vinyl Me, Please. Pressed on “gold galaxy”-colored vinyl, this edition comes accompanied by an art print as well as a listening notes booklet.
Vinyl Me, Please was on fire this month, especially in the hip-hop department. They’ve also dropped a new edition of the Public Enemy classic Fear Of A Black Planet, and this version of the group’s biggest release comes pressed on sharp-looking blue and brown vinyl — or “Us and the Damned”-colored, as VMP puts it.
Big Red Machine — How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?
37d03d
Big Red Machine is built on collaboration, as the core of the project is the coming together of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner. On top of that, the duo’s latest album also brings into the fold Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes, Sharon Van Etten, and a host of others, and now they’re all available together on vinyl.
Spice Girls know what you want (what you really, really want): They’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of their hit single “Wannabe” with a new limited-edition EP, Wannabe25. Aside from the original 1996 single, this vinyl release also includes a remix of the song by Junior Vasquez (which was originally a bonus track on the 1996 “2 Become 1” CD single), the original demo of the song, and a demo of a previously unreleased track called “Feed Your Love.”
